One of the main reasons for Microsoft switching to the Chromium engine was to secure its much-prized compatibility and reliability for the new Edge, so if things get even a little shaky on this front, that’s going to be a disappointment.įurthermore, there could be compatibility question marks over extensions (the add-ons that introduce extra functionality to the browser, like a VPN, for example). Mozilla has certainly complained in the past about multiple mistakes caused by Google, and not fixed with any particular urgency, which have considerably disrupted its Firefox browser. Given that, persuading people to leave Chrome, which is well-established as a trusted name, could be a sticking point.Īnother thing to consider is that if Chromium-based Edge runs into bugs that need help from Google to fix – as we’ve seen recently with flaws in Google’s services including Meet and Google Docs – will Microsoft’s browser rival be prioritizing fixes for them? (More on that momentarily). What if some of that poor reputation still sticks, even if this fresh browser is an entirely new proposition in terms of its engine? Not everyone will be fully aware of that, particularly less tech-savvy surfers. There are potential reasons why things might be a little rockier for Microsoft post-release.įirst of all, remember that this new spin on its browser still keeps the Edge brand, and that name does not carry positive connotations. However, Chromium-based Edge launching and storming off busily attracting new users is not necessarily a given, by any means. We must also consider that the early signs are promising for Microsoft’s revamped browser, with a generally positive reaction from testers, and anecdotally, we’ve found it comes up trumps on the resource usage front. Naturally, the obvious counterargument to this is that Chromium-based Edge will come out of the gates, be a hit with users, and start stealing market share from Chrome, so any potential gains for Google will be more than cancelled out.Īfter all, the revamped Edge obviously still benefits from all these improvements, and potentially the goodwill generated by Microsoft going all-in with its energy and drive to improve the open source project. The early signs are looking promising for Microsoft’s new browser, but there are potential sticking points, for sure (Image credit: TechRadar) Edge of tomorrow And it’s already by far the most dominant web browser holding a 66% market share (according to analytics firm Netmarketshare’s latest stats). So never mind Mozilla’s (the maker of Firefox) initial cries of “by adopting Chromium, Microsoft hands over control of even more of online life to Google”, perhaps there is an even more direct threat: that Microsoft’s innovations with the new Edge equally bolster Chrome and will reinforce its top spot in the browser world. It’s certainly good to see Microsoft committing so strongly to work on Chromium here – and staying true to the push with open source that it has made a big deal of in recent times – but it’s increasingly looking like Chrome really has a lot to gain from all this. This would be a particularly big bonus for Google, because resource hogging is known to be Chrome’s major weak spot. The potential performance tweak for swifter startup is quite telling in particular, and it’s easy to envisage that on a broader level, there will be memory management and performance improvements engineered by Microsoft that Chrome will benefit from – and thus battery longevity boosts when it comes to surfing on notebooks. ![]() Not to mention touches like implementing text suggestions for the hardware keyboard, bolstering Incognito Mode on Windows 10 to give it a tighter level of privacy, as well as improving overall responsiveness and functionality with touchscreen devices, and more besides. In just the last week or so, we’ve witnessed Microsoft drive Chromium forward in terms of working on smoother scrolling for web pages (which can get quite jerky on busier pages), and potential tweaks to memory management for a faster startup for Chrome on lower-spec PCs.
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